Orthesis joint

ABSTRACT

An orthesis joint is provided which has a first support plate, a thigh attachment part hingedly connected thereto through a first bearing bush, a lower leg attachment part connected with the first support plate through a second bearing bush and a connecting member hingedly connected with both attachment parts through a third and fourth bearing bush. Such an orthesis joint is in particular used for knee ortheses. In order to prevent the orthesis joint from chafing at the knee when flexing or stretching the joint a pressure cushion is provided which is carried by the connecting member.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/973,073 filed on Nov.6, 1992, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to an orthesis joint and in particular to anorthesis joint for a knee or leg orthesis.

Such an orthesis joint is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,054. Theorthesis joint is in particular used as a knee joint for leg or theses.For preventing chafing of the support plate at the knee a prior usedorthesis which is constructed according to the teaching of the U.S.Patent comprises a pressure cushion which is arranged at the side of thesupport plate facing the knee and which is rigidly connected to thesupport plate. This pressure cushion has the disadvantage that everyflexion and stretching causes a change of position thereof because ofthe path of movement resulting from the two joints. In other words, thepressure cushion constantly moves up and down or back and forth,respectively, at the knee.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved orthesis jointin which the above-mentioned drawbacks are avoided. It is a furtherobject of the invention to provide an orthesis joint which avoids anup-and-down or back-and-forth movement of the cushion member whenflexing or stretching the orthesis joint. It is a still further objectof the invention to provide an orthesis joint which prevents the chafingof the cushion member in use of the orthesis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects the invention providesan orthesis joint comprising a first support plate, a thigh attachmentpart which is hingedly connected to said first support plate through afirst bearing bush, a lower leg attachment part which is hingedlyconnected to said first support plate through a second bearing bush, aconnecting member which is hingedly connected to both said attachmentparts through a third and fourth bearing bush, respectively, a pressurecushion and means supporting said pressure cushion on said connectingmember.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and advantages of the invention result from thedescription of an embodiment with reference to the Figures. In theFigures:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view along line A--A in FIG. 3 with the orthesisjoint being in stretched end position;

FIG. 2 is a corresponding representation of the joint in flexed endposition;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the orthesis joint;

FIG. 4 is a back view of the orthesis joint shown in FIG. 2 withpressure cushion indicated in lines; and

FIG. 5 is a back view of the orthesis joint shown in FIG. 1 with thepressure cushion indicated in lines.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The orthesis joint comprises a first support plate (1). A thighattachment part (2) is hingedly connected thereto at a bearing bush (3)extending perpendicular to the plane of the support plate. Further, alower leg attachment part (4) is provided which is hingedly connectedwith the support plate (1) at a second bearing bush (5) extendingperpendicular to the plane of the support plate. A connecting member (6)is provided between both attachment parts. This connecting member hasone end thereof hingedly connected to the lower leg attachment part (4)at a third bearingbush (7) and the other end thereof hingedly connectedto the thigh attachment part (2) at a fourth bearing bush (8).

The connection between the connecting member and the attachment parts ismade such that slotted recesses (9, 10) extending parallel to thesupport plate are provided at the facing ends of the attachment parts.The connecting member is movably guided within these recesses. As may bebest seen from FIG. 3, a second sup port plate (11) is provided which isa mirror image of the first support plate. The ends of the respectivebearing bushes which are facing away from the first support plate aresupported in the second support plate. The attachment parts are freelymovable between both support plates.

The position of the first to fourth bearing bushes is selected in per seknown manner such that a first straight line connecting the first andsecond bearing bush intersects the second straight line connecting thethird and fourth bearing bushes with an angle such that a motion havinga substantially circular portion and a following substantially spiralportion results from the two joints formed by the first and secondbearingbushes when moving the attachment parts or the orthesis connectedthereto, respectively. The connecting member (6) has a threaded bush(12). In FIGS.1 and 2 the rear side of the rivet connecting the threadedbush with the connecting member can be seen, whereas the threaded bushitself is shown in FIGS. 3 to 5. The first support plate (1) comprises ahole (13) having a size such that the threaded bush (12) can freely movethrough the hole when moving the orthesis joint. A pressure cushion (14)is rigidly connected to the connecting member (6) through the threadedbush (12) by means of a suitable screw. As may be best seen in FIG. 1,the threaded bush (12) is arranged on a line which extends perpendicularto the longitudinal axis of the stretched orthesis joint and which isabout equally spaced from the first bearing bush (3) and from the secondbearingbush (5). In a side view it is positioned on a straight linewhich extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the stretchedorthesis joint and which is about equally spaced from the first andsecond bearing bush. The rigid connection of the pressure cushion withthe connecting member (6) achieves that the pressure cushion no longermoves up and down or back andforth, respectively, when moving theorthesis joint.

As may be best seen in the FIGS. 1 and 2, a first threaded bore (15) isprovided in the center plane of the thigh attachment part (2) andextends parallel to the support plate. A threaded sleeve (16) comprisinga stop (17) which is prestressed by an interior spring is screwed intothe bore (15). The screw is adjusted, dependent on the needs of thepatient, such that the stretched end position shown in FIG. 1 is definedby the stop. Further, a second threaded bore (18) is provided and acorresponding threaded sleeve (19) having a stop (20) prestressed by aninterior spring screwed into the threaded bore (18). As may inparticular be seen from FIG. 2, the flexed end position of the orthesisjoint is defined by the screw-in location of the threaded sleeve withthe stop. The spring's prestress or an elastic prestress produced bymeans of a rubber, if desired, respectively, prevents a hard collisionof the orthesis parts when wearing the same, so that the wearing comfortis considerably improved.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificexample embodiment, it is to be understood that it is intended to coverall modifications and equivalents within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An orthesis joint comprising a first plate, asecond plate, a thigh attachment part and a leg attachment part, a firstbushing coupling said thigh attachment part to said first and secondplates, a second bushing coupling said leg attachment part to said firstand second plates, said leg and thigh attachment parts having slottedrecesses in which a connecting member is positioned, said connectingmember coupled to said leg attachment part and said thigh attachmentpart, said second plate having a portion defining a hole, a bush coupledto said connecting member and which also extends through said hole, saidattachment parts and connecting member coupled together for relativerotatable movement with respect to each other and said plates and apressure cushion member coupled to said bush on the side of said holeopposite said hole side closest to the connecting member so that thepressure cushion will not interfere with the movement of the attachmentparts and move with the connecting member as the thigh part and leg partare rotatably moved relative to one another.
 2. The joint of claim 1 inwhich said connecting member has a stop portion which engages a springloaded member positioned in one of the attachment members and extendinginto said slotted recess thereof when the attachment parts are rotatedtowards each other.
 3. The joint of claim 1 in which a spring loadedmember is supported by one of said attachments for limiting the movementof said attachment members when the attachment members are rotated awayfrom each other.
 4. An orthesis joint comprising a first support plate,athigh attachment part which is hingedly connected to first support platethrough a first bearing bush, a lower leg attachment part which ishingedly connected to said first support plate through a second bearingbush, a connecting member which is hingedly connected to both saidattachment parts through a third and fourth, respectively, bearing bush,a pressure cushion for preventing the orthesis joint from chafing at theknee when stretching or flexing the joint a connector supporting andcoupled to said pressure cushion and said connecting member to rigidlyconnect said pressure cushion to said connecting member for movementtherewith.
 5. The joint of claim 4 in which said first support platedefines a hole into which said connector extends and in which saidconnector comprises a bearing bush to which the cushion is rigidlyconnected.
 6. The orthesis joint of claim 4, wherein said pressurecushion has a center which is positioned essentially on a line extendingperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of said orthesis joint whenstretched and which is about equally spaced from said first and secondbearing bushes.
 7. The orthesis joint of claim 5, comprising a slottedrecess provided in one of said attachment parts at the portion thereoffacing the other of said attachment parts, said connecting member beingguided within said slotted recess.
 8. The orthesis joint of claim 5,comprising a second support plate disposed at a side opposite to saidfirst support plate, a hole in one of said support plates and a joiningelement connecting said connection member and said pressure cushion,said joining element extending through said hole.
 9. The orthesis jointof claim 5, comprising a first stop and a second stop for defining therelative movement of said attachment parts and said connecting member,at least one of said stops being adjustable.
 10. The orthesis joint ofclaim 9, wherein at least one of said stops is elastic.
 11. The orthesisjoint of claim 9, wherein said stops are designed as threaded sleeves,said threaded sleeves being supported in a threaded bore and havingspring-biased stop heads.
 12. The orthesis joint according to claim 9,wherein said stops are provided in one of said attachment parts andextend into said slotted recess.